newsflash

ICO Takes Action Against Devon And Cornwall Police & One Other

IODPA Admin newsflash
ICO Takes Action Against Devon And Cornwall Police & One Other

On 29th July 2024 the Information Commission’s Office (‘ICO’) issued enforcement notices on Devon and Cornwall Police and Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust for failing to meet basic information request requirements, as set out under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

We have copied the action taken against Devon and Cornwall Police as published by the ICO –

Devon and Cornwall Police

In 2023, as part of our routine work to monitor public authorities’ compliance with the legislation, the Information Commissioner found Devon and Cornwall Police to be performing poorly in terms of their obligation to provide responses to information requests.

It was revealed that between 2022 and 2024 the percentage of requests responded to within the statutory FOI timeframe of 20 working days was consistently low (between 39% and 65%). Their rate of response to internal review requests was also poor, averaging between 0% and 22%.

The Force had a backlog of older FOI requests which had increased from 77 in December 2023 to 251 in June 2024.

Our enforcement notice orders the Force to devise and publish an action plan in the next 30 days which must detail how they will comply with their duties to respond to information requests in a timely manner. The Force has been given six months to clear the existing backlog.

The full press release can be found here – https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2024/07/ico-takes-action-against-two-organisations-for-risking-public-trust-by-failing-to-respond-to-public-requests-for-information/

PSNI consultation on changing the injury regulations

IODPA Admin newsflash, PSNI
PSNI

PSNIIt has been brought to our attention that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (‘PSNI’) have released a consultation paper on changing the long established “POLICE SERVICE OF NORTHERN IRELAND AND POLICE SERVICE OF NORTHERN IRELAND RESERVE (INJURY BENEFIT) REGULATIONS 2006″. We say long established because the regulations have been in their current form one way or another for 50 years.

It appear as though the consultation is driven by a paper released by the Northern Ireland Audit Office (‘NIAO’) entitled “Injury on duty schemes for officers in the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Prison Service” dated 10th March 2020.

The driving force behind this review is unequivocally money and complains that the scheme is not sustainable in its current form. The NIAO paper complains about the costs of back-dating awards without exploring the reasons why injured officers are not being paid the correct level of pension to start with.

It goes onto to complain (on three occasions) that an officer with an injury award may have a pension that is larger than an officer that has completed their service uninjured, oblivious to the fact that the pension is designed in this way as it has to take into account the future loss of earning capacity, whilst the uninjured officer can seek unfettered future employment.

The consultation ends on the 17th June 2024, and IODPA has drafted a response on behalf of our members in PSNI. We’d be pleased to hear your comments on the nine questions posed. Please put your thoughts in the comments.

 

Read the consultation here –

 

 

Read the NIAO paper here –

 

Austin HETHERINGTON BEM (British Empire Medal)

IODPA Admin newsflash
Austin HETHERINGTON BEM (British Empire Medal)

We are extremely pleased announce that James Austin HETHERINGTON, known as Austin has been awarded a Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) in HM King’s first Birthday Honors List.

Austin was the equivalent of IODPA in Northern Ireland working tirelessly to seek justice for police officers that had been injured on duty. He spent many years and expended a great deal of his time and energy supporting officers and pensioners before finally retiring approximately 6 months ago

Members of IODPA had the great pleasure of travelling to Northern Ireland in 2017 where Austin and some of his members graciously looked after us.

We cannot think of a more deserving person for this great honor, well done Austin!

Police Federation Lose Case At Employment Tribunal

IODPA Admin newsflash
Police Federation Lose Case At Employment Tribunal

The Police Federation of England & Wales victimised and discriminated against officers involved in police pension claims, tribunal finds.

The Police Federation of England & Wales (PFEW) discriminated against and victimised members who previously made claims against the Government after being moved onto pension schemes with reduced benefits, a tribunal has ruled.

The case centered around the refusal of the federation to challenge the Government over their introduction of the Police Pension Regulations 2015 which was subsequently found to be unlawful on the basis of age discrimination.

After reviewing the PFEW’s decisions and communications regarding the police pensions claims, the East London Employment tribunal found:

  • The PFEW understood from the outset that that there was a ‘possibility’ of age discrimination;
  • Its messaging was ‘unfailingly supportive’ of the transitional provisions;
  • It did not provide its members with a ‘rounded understanding’ of the ‘likely outcomes’; instead it provided a skewed and misleading narrative, emphasising unlikely outcomes, with the overriding objective of protecting the transitional provisions;
  • General Secretary Ian Rennie had no training in equalities law, for the majority of the time, there was no one who was responsible for equalities issues at its head offices, and there was no evidence that the equalities sub-committee was tasked with examining issues relating to pensions or the PPC;
  • There was no consultation of the membership at large, and little evidence that the bodies charged with deciding/reviewing policy were consulted in a meaningful way;
  • Consideration was not given as to whether there was any less discriminatory way of redesigning the scheme so as to be fairer to younger officers.

Read more at Leigh Day – https://www.leighday.co.uk/news/news/2023-news/police-federation-of-england-wales-victimised-and-discriminated-against-officers-involved-in-police-pension-claims-tribunal-finds/

 

Ex-PSNI officers win court battle over injury award refusal

IODPA Admin newsflash, PSNI, Review, Scoffield
PSNI

PSNITwo former PSNI officers have won a High Court battle over being refused enhanced injury awards.

A judge quashed a decision by the Northern Ireland Policing Board to reject independent medical assessments on the level of their disablement.

Mr Justice Scoffield held that the authority misdirected itself on the meaning of relevant regulations and signalled that both cases should be reconsidered.

The Policing Board’s Resources Committee considered the IMR reports but refused the appeals, stating that the process applied was not consistent with current guidance.

Lawyers for the two officers claimed the decision was unlawful and irrational.

Ruling on the challenge, Mr Justice Scoffield held there was an obligation on the Board to treat the relevant medical practitioner’s certificate as determinative and to give effect to those decisions.

As reported by: Belfast Telegraph – https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/courts/ex-psni-officers-win-court-battle-over-injury-award-refusal/1232935568.html

 

IODPA Member Commits To A 45 Mile Endurance Walk In 24 Hours

IODPA Admin newsflash
IODPA Member Commits To A 45 Mile Endurance Walk In 24 Hours

IODPA member Keith Henderson has committed to an endurance walking challenge to raise funds for two charities, IODPA and Prostate Cancer UK.

In a public post, this is what he wrote –

 

As some of you know, I had a crazy idea for a fundraiser. No one has tried to talk me out of it (some friends you are ).

45 MILES IN 24 HOURS – ENDURANCE WALK

Prostate Cancer UK & Injury on Duty Pensioners Association

ENDURANCE WALKING CHALLENGE FOR TWO CHARITIES

On Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 January 2022, I will be walking the Deeside Way from the Ballater Police Office, where I served as a young officer, to the old Police HQ in Aberdeen, a distance of 45 miles. The walk is non-stop and to be done within 24 hours. The Deeside Way roughly follows the old railway line that Queen Victoria used when travelling to Balmoral Castle.

Chuck in the January weather, lengthy night time walking, some navigation and the distance involved, it is a proper endurance event that will test me (I’m wrong side of a bus pass). I will be carrying my own kit, food and doing it ‘solo’ (no one else is walking the distance start to finish though friends have offered to accompany me for sections). All costs in arranging, travelling etc. are mine and every penny donated goes to the following charities.

Prostate Cancer UK www.prostatecanceruk.org

The first charity I am walking for is Prostate Cancer UK. It is very personal to me with both family and friends being affected by this illness. One in eight men will be diagnosed in their lifetime. Research, diagnosis, treatment and patient support all need funding.

They are having March for Men Endurance events from January to October 2022 and my walk is also in aid of this. Donations can be made here: www.justgiving.com/Keith-Henderson7

Injury On Duty Pensioners Association www.iodpa.org

No one wants to end their police career on ill-health. Unfortunately, many do, including me.

The Injury On Duty Pensioners Association is the only dedicated organisation that supports police officers who have been injured on duty through no fault of their own. Injuries can be mental, physical, and on occasions, both.

The IODPA advises officers, who are going through the ill health retirement process, are applying for an injury pension, or are having their pension award reviewed.

Decisions can be made by Forces that are detrimental to officers seeking an injury pension and the IODPA is there to give advice and assistance to overcome those problems.

The IODPA is a small charity and relies on membership and donations. Therefore a ‘crowd funding’ page is necessary on this occasion to take donations. The link is: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/keith-hendersoniodpa

Thank you for reading. I hope you can support me by donating to either charity.

Thanks, Keith Henderson

Everyone within IODPA wish Keith the very best for his challenge and we hope the weather stays kind to him! It is an incredible feat to do at any time but in the middle of winter takes it to a whole new level.

We are very humbled that Keith should choose us as one of his chosen charities and thank him from the bottom of our hearts.

If you can spare a pound or two, please consider supporting Keith.

Lloyd Kelly – The Court Of Appeal Confirms That Injury Pensions Should Be Back Dated With Interest

IODPA Admin newsflash, police injury award, Police Pension Authority, Uncategorized
Lloyd Kelly – The Court Of Appeal Confirms That Injury Pensions Should Be Back Dated With Interest

The Court of Appeal today handed down judgment in the case of Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police, R (On the Application Of) v Kelly & Anor [2021] EWCA Civ 1699 (19 November 2021)

 

On the 5th June 2005, Mr Kelly was required to retire as a serving police officer due to permanent disablement from South Yorkshire Police. Whilst Mr Kelly was granted an ill-health pension, the force did not consider whether he was entitled to an injury pension under The Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 due to the injury being caused on duty. They also did not inform him that he may make an application.

On the 25th July 2017, Mr Kelly became aware of injury pensions, and made an application, which was subsequently granted. South Yorkshire Police however only agreed to apply the pension from the date of the application rather from the date of retirement, a difference of 12 years worth of back pension.

The matter was heard twice, in the Crown Court, where Mr Kelly was successful. South Yorkshire appealed the matter to the Court of Appeal, who today handed down judgment in favour of Mr Kelly. The judgment agreed that Mr Kelly should be paid from the date of retirement and is also entitled to interest on his money.

You Have Until The 23rd June 2021 To Stop The NHS Sharing Your Data

IODPA Admin newsflash

The NHS has plans to scrape all your personal and medical data into a huge silo, which they plan to share (read sell) to commercial companies. The plan is to anonymise the data, so what could go wrong?

If you wish to stop your data leaving your own GP practice, you need to take positive action to prevent this from happening. You have until the 23rd June 2021 to do so.

Here are the methods by which you can opt out.

Opt-Out – hard copy form – https://nhs-prod.global.ssl.fastly.net/binaries/content/assets/website-assets/data-and-information/data-collections/general-practice-data-for-planning-and-research/type-1-opt-out-form.docx

National Data Opt-Out – hard copy form – https://assets.nhs.uk/nhsuk-cms/documents/Make_and_manage_your_choice_or_your_childs_choice_PDF_224kb.pdf

National Data Opt-Out – online form – https://your-data-matters.service.nhs.uk/

Home Office Consultation On Regulation 12 Of The Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006

IODPA Admin newsflash, regulation 12
Home Office Consultation On Regulation 12 Of The Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006

In 2020, following a successful claim by Ron Thompson of Haven Solicitors and David Lock QC of Landmark Chambers, the Government agreed a discretionary payment equal to a regulation 12 settlement for one of their clients.

It was accepted that regulation 12, being time limited to 12 months from the date of receiving an injury on duty was potentially discriminatory against officers whose injuries only manifested to total and permanent disablement some time later. This is particularly relevant to those who suffered a mental health injury.

As part of the settlement, the Home Office agreed to consult further on the issue, and has now released a public consultation paper, which we’ve reproduced here.

If you feel as though you have something positive to contribute to the debate, you may complete the online form found here –

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/regulation-12-of-the-police-injury-benefit-regulations-2006.

 

 

Essex Police To Recommence Injury Reviews

IODPA Admin newsflash
Essex Police To Recommence Injury Reviews

It appears that Essex Police intend to recommence injury pension reviews from April of this year. The official decision can be found here –

https://www.essex.police.uk/foi-ai/essex-police/lists-and-registers/essex-police-pension-board/essex-police-pension-board-scheme-manager-notice-to-injury-benefit-pensioners/

A briefing note can be found here –

https://www.essex.police.uk/foi-ai/essex-police/lists-and-registers/essex-police-pension-board/essex-police-pension-board-degree-of-disablement-assessment-regulation-37-briefing-note-to-pensioners/

There is also an example letter –

https://www.essex.police.uk/foi-ai/essex-police/lists-and-registers/essex-police-pension-board/essex-police-pension-board-degree-of-disablement-assessment-letter-to-pensioners/

There are 272 Essex pensioners that are in receipt of an injury pension. We would urge those pensioners that are not IODPA members to make contact with us.